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Audi axes the A2 program

January 1, 2013

Front view of Audi A2 concept. Photo by Audi

The EV revolution seems to be trickling on in fits and starts. Automakers have unleashed a veritable raft of possible electric vehicles in the past few years, though many are simply pie-in-the-sky think pieces, never to grace your local charging station.

Others, like the Chevrolet Spark EV, will be available for purchase and/or lease in the near future. Audi's A2 concept from the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show seemed destined for driveways as a more conventionally styled alternative to BMW's rather radical i3.

On paper, the A2 sounded like an enjoyable little machine: handsome-hatch looks, 114 electric horses, battery pack mounted in a sandwich floor for a low center of gravity all stuffed into urban-runabout dimensions that compared nicely with the last car to wear the A2 badge -- a Bauhaus-flavored runabout that exited the marketplace in 2005.

Talk of a range-extending internal-combustion mill was also part and parcel of the proposed A2 program. Now that parcel won't be shipping. Audi's decided that the environment isn't exactly ripe for another compact premium EV.

We're very interested to see how this segment shakes out, given that BMW's i3 pricing will likely put it very close to the base Tesla Model S, a larger vehicle with a longer manufacturer-advertised range. Tesla claims 160 miles for their 40 kWh sedan (our recent test vehicle featured the 85 kWh pack), while the i3 will likely come in somewhere between 80 and 100 miles of range, putting it roughly in line with current hatchback electric vehicles.

The major reason we've been so hard on the Coda Sedan is that the company's asking a lot of scratch for an unfinished car wrapped around an interesting battery. Yet it's what the startup has to charge to even attempt to survive. Electric vehicles are still pricey to build, yet automakers like GM, Nissan and BMW clearly think an early foothold will pay future dividends.

Meanwhile, the minds at Audi believe their diesel-and-hybrid strategy will carry them through until the battery-electric waters reach a temperature more favorable for entry.